Commentary on transportation in Connecticut and the Northeast by JIM CAMERON, for 19 years a member of the CT Rail Commuter Council.
Jim is also the founder of a new advocacy effort: www.CommuterActionGroup.org
Disclaimer: his comments are only his own. All contents of this blog are (c) Cameron Communications Inc

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March 31, 2015

Re-Thinking First Class

Any
regular reader of this column knows that I hate flying.I love travel, but getting there by air is a
pain… and getting worse.Our local
airports are vying for third-world status.The security searches by the TSA make a colonoscopy look like fun.And once on the plane, the airlines’ seats
and service make The Fung Wah Bus seem like a viable alternative.

Why
is it that airlines are all vying for the cheapest products instead of the
best?Why this race to the bottom where
low-cost-carriers like Spirit and Southwest are the models instead of overseas service
exemplars like Singapore and Emirates?

I,
for one, am willing to pay more to get more.I may not opt for first class, but I will only fly in business class on
flights to California.It’s worth it.

But
the legacy carriers like American and United ask for $1600 one-way from NY to
LAX, and they get it.Their business
class is full thanks to frequent flyer upgrades. But now there’s a cheaper,
better alternative:JetBlue.

When
JetBlue began as a low-cost carrier in 2000, it found a loyal following by
offering high frequency, friendly and comfortable flights.Today they are an international carrier
serving 87 destinations with more than 200 aircraft.And they have one of the hottest terminals at
JFK, T5.

And
ten of their newest planes, A-321’s, now offer a new product, “Mint”, with truly
first class seating at lower-than-business class fares.I finally had a chance to sample the service
on a recent flight to LAX.

First,
there’s the seating. There are just 16 seats with full, six foot lie-flat beds.
I lucked out and got one of the four “private cabins” with 22-inch wide seats
and a sliding door to the corridor.My
TV was a 15-inch flat-screen with live satellite feed, movies and SiriusXM
Radio.I had two AC outlets and a pair
of USB plugs keeping all my gear fully-charged.

When
I boarded I found a welcome note, written by hand, from the flight crew
thanking me for my business.Also
awaiting was a full duvet and pillow, an amenities kit and free Wi-Fi, coast to
coast.

After
take-off came the usual beverages and a most unusual meal… the choice of three
tapas-like entrees from a menu of five on offer, prepared by Saxon+Parole.The lobster mac-and-cheese was to die
for.But they also had Kosher, vegan and
gluten-free options.And coming soon, an
on-board cappuccino machine.

The
service was amazing.This was one of the
best flights ever, and I’ve logged miles for decades on five continents.And the ticket was only $599 one-way. I’d
gladly have paid more.

The
bad news is this amazing product is only available on flights from JFK to LAX
(7 a day) and San Francisco (5 times daily).Rumor has it they may also add transcon flights from Boston, but you
won’t by flying “Mint” on your way to Orlando anytime soon. To the Caribbean,
maybe.

So
kudos to “New York’s hometown airline” for continuing to be innovative in
offering more for less and making flying fun again!

3 comments:

Sadly, Jet Blue is going the way of everyone else... they were the only airline letting you still fly with one free checked back. They announced back in December that sometime mid this year that would end.

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Former NBC News director and anchor, now a professional communications consultant, JIM CAMERON leads workshops on media training, speech and presentations skills and preps clients for analyst briefings and legislative testimony.
Jim served for 19 years on the CT Metro-North Rail Commuter Council, is an elected member of the Darien Representative Town Meeting (RTM) and is Program Director of Darien TV79, his town's government TV station.